Worship at the Nativity by Pastor Welty
Jim Welty
When our missionary guest was with us in October, he said something that caused me to ponder our purpose and motivation. He said that missions is not the primary purpose for the church, but worship is. John Piper shared the same sentiments when he said:
Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more.
His words are stirring and inspiring, and they help us really understand what is most important for us as Christ followers. If worship of God is primary and ultimate, and I believe it is, then it will be a vital part of our lives. It will not just be relegated to Sunday morning but will permeate our entire lives.
During the Advent season, we'll be looking at some aspects of worship surrounding the birth of Christ. On December 1 we'll be considering worship as surrender to God from the lives of Mary and Joseph. They both had to make huge adjustments in their personal plans to allow God to use them for his purpose, but they both surrendered to God's will and played a vital role in God's story. (Luke 1:26-38 and Matthew 1:18-25)
On December 8 we'll be looking at worship as joyful celebration of God's goodness. Luke 1:46-55 records Mary's hymn of praise to God after finding out that she would give birth to God's Son. In these verses we don't hear Mary complaining about the inconvenience that she would endure but rejoicing that she was a part of God's plan. Her words are an important reminder to us about how we view our role in God's story.
After Jesus was born, the good news of His birth was shared with some shepherds. They visited the new born Jesus, and after they left that place, they shared the news with everyone they met. Their hearts were so full, they couldn't help spilling out onto others. On December 15 we'll look at their story noting that worship is telling what God has done. (Luke 2:8-20)
Matthew 2 tells us about the Magi visiting Jesus. Their visit didn't happen on the night Jesus was born but sometime later. That does mess with the traditional manger scenes that have the Magi and their camels on hand. The Magi brought gifts to worship the new born king. They were paying homage to a king - the King of kings. On December 22 we'll be think about the idea of worship as giving. (Matthew 2:1-12)
I hope that you will be able to join us as we ponder the importance of worship and how it permeates our entire lives.